1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for space heating a dwelling, office and the like, and, more specifically, the present invention relates to a heating system which utilizes relatively low amounts of current, such as, for example, power generated by solar cells and stored in a group of batteries.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many systems have been designed to utilize solar cells, that is, silicon photovoltaic cells, for the generation of power. For example, in an article published in Mechanix Illustrated, Feb. 19, 1980, pages 46 and 47, it is disclosed that a large bank of 33,600 photovoltaic cells can power a 500-watt radio station from dawn to dusk. Several conventional systems utilizing photovoltaic cells require large numbers of cells to generate sufficient power for most applications including applications where it is desired to heat a dwelling, office and the like.
In a conventional space heating system for dwelling, office and similar uses, a plurality of electrical resistance heaters, typically requiring approximately 500 to 1500 watts of power, are positioned in various rooms. In a simple system, the actuation of the group of heaters is controlled by a single thermostat and, thus, all heaters are either on or off. In more sophisticated systems, several thermostats are provided, perhaps as many as one thermostat for each room. Even in the most sophisticated systems, several heaters are on during lengthy periods of the day thus drawing extensive amount of current. Because of the periodic high demands for current in electrically heated dwellings, offices or the like, it has been found to be difficult to adapt photovoltaic cells for use in supplying current to a group of electrical heaters.